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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Association Between Maternal Alcohol Consumption in Early Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes

To investigate the association between alcohol consumption and binge drinking
before and during early pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
We used data from 5,628 nulliparous pregnant participants recruited
to the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) study, a prospective cohort
study. Participants were interviewed at 15 weeks of gestation and information on
alcohol intake before pregnancy and until the time of interview was obtained
using a standardized questionnaire. Alcohol intake was classified as occasional
(1-2 units per week), low (3-7 units per week), moderate (8-14 units per week),
and heavy (greater than 14 units per week). Binge alcohol consumption was
defined as consumption of 6 or more alcohol units in one session.Of the 5,628 participants, 1,090 (19%) reported occasional alcohol
consumption, 1,383 (25%) low alcohol consumption, 625 (11%) moderate alcohol
consumption, and 300 (5%) heavy alcohol consumption. Overall, 1,905 (34%)
participants reported binge alcohol consumption in the 3 months before
pregnancy, and 1,288 (23%) of these participants reported binge alcohol
consumption during the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Participants who consumed
occasional to heavy amounts of alcohol in early pregnancy did not have altered
odds of a small-for-gestational-age neonate, reduced birth weight, preeclampsia,
or spontaneous preterm birth. Similarly, those who binge drank in early
pregnancy did not have altered odds of these adverse pregnancy outcomes.Alcohol consumption in early pregnancy was prevalent in this
nulliparous cohort. There was no association between alcohol consumption before
15 weeks of gestation and small for gestational age, reduced birth weight,
preeclampsia, or spontaneous preterm birth.Read Full AbstractRequest Reprint E-Mail: Fergus.mccarthy@ucc.ie